The electronics industry continues to rely upon advances in semiconductor technology to realize higher-function devices in more compact areas. For many applications realizing higher-functioning devices requires integrating a large number of electronic devices into a single silicon wafer. As the number of electronic devices per given area of the silicon wafer increases, the manufacturing process becomes more difficult.
The packaging of an IC device is increasingly playing a role in its ultimate performance. For example, in mobile devices (i.e., mobile phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, remote controls, etc), WLCSP components are used in their assembly. WLCSP components save valuable space in the mobile device. After assembly, in some example processes, customers encapsulate these WLCSP devices by injection molding or casing. This manual post-processing of the WLCSP may result in the device being damage. Consequently, the customer may prefer to have the WLCSP product surrounded by non-brittle material, which prevents damage to the die itself, before receiving the product for assembly in to his mobile device.
There is a need for a WLCSP assembly process which can address the challenges raised by the needs of mobile applications.